Financial Roundup: Chevy Chase Buyout, Credit Suisse Cuts, Obama Team Infighting, BofA Retirement Survey

(MoneyWatch)  I'm Chevy Chase and you're not, anymore - Capital One Financial is acquiring backyard rival Chevy Chase Bank for $520 million in cash and stock. Bethesda, Md.-based Chevy Chase is the latest in a parade of regional banking comanies that have been acquired since the banking crisis bloomed earlier this year. Citigroup was reportedly interested in buying Chevy but backed off after its stock price tumbled and the federal government moved in to infuse $20 billion in fresh capital. [Source: CNNMoney.com]


Swiss bank slices jobs, perks - Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second largest bank, will cut 5,300 jobs and will eliminate bonuses for its top executives. The cutbacks come after nearly a $2.5 billion loss over the past two months for the banking concern. The job cuts amount to nearly 11 percent of the company's workforce and includes heavy staff reductions within its Zurich-based Credit Suisse securities unit. Source: Wall Street Journal.

Nasty team of rivals? - Timothy Geithner, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for U.S. Treasury Secretary, is trying to push Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair out of office. Geithner says she's not a team player. [Source: Bloomberg Business News].


Tapping retirement plans early - The 2008 Bank of America Retirement Savings Survey revealed that current financial conditions forced 18% of respondents to withdraw from their retirement accounts prematurely. The top three reasons for the early withdrawals include: credit card debt; mortgage payments; and recent job loss, according to the survey.[Source: CNNMoney.com].